NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday announced that former state Congress chief Bhupen Borah will join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on February 22. The announcement comes as Sarma met Borah at his residence in Guwahati today evening.Addressing reporters, Sarma said, “Bhupen Borah will join BJP on 22nd February. Dilip Saikia will work out the details. Along with him, a good number of Congress leaders will join the BJP in Guwahati and North Lakhimpur.”He described Borah as “the last recognised Hindu leader in Congress” and said that the BJP’s national leadership had already cleared his induction. “Our National President Nitin Nabin has already approved his joining and welcomes him. Bhupen Borah will be accorded all due respect and dignity,” Sarma said.
Calling the move a “homecoming”, the chief minister added, “Joining the BJP will be like a homecoming for him because it is a party with many people like him, whose fathers did not occupy any high offices.”“Bhupen Borah’s joining will completely create an image, which is a reality too, that Congress is no longer a party of mainstream Assamese people,” Sarma added.Hitting out at the Congress leadership, state CM questioned the party’s internal functioning and accused it of favouring selected leaders over grassroots workers. He said, “If you go to Majuli, and take one particular leader in the Yatra, then that means you don’t want Congress to win. A genuine Congress leader will feel pain that this party is not fighting to win elections. I have gone through the same pain. When I went to join the BJP, even I got those calls. These people live like a feudal lord. They think they will make one call and the decision will be changed… If someone says I have gone to Islamabad to see Park Hotel, and you give approval to those people, then aren’t you anti-national?”
Borah’s 24-hour of U-turns
Borah had exited the Congress on Monday morning, saying that he had sent his resignation letter to the high command at 8 am after feeling “ignored” within the state unit.“I sent my resignation to the Congress High Command at 8 am this morning and explained in detail why I was compelled to take this stand. This is not a personal decision. I have given 32 years to the party and joined it in 1994,” Borah told reporters.“This principle is not merely personal; it is driven by concern for the party’s future. That is why I conveyed everything in detail to the Congress High Command,” he added.A two-time legislator who headed the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee from 2021 to 2025 before being replaced by Gaurav Gogoi, Borah maintained that his decision was not meant to signal retirement from politics. “There has been no formal proposal from any political party, but it is a fact that I have not taken the decision to resign to bid farewell to politics,” he said.However, within hours of political speculation intensifying and amid an open invitation from Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, Borah entered into discussions with senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi.Congress’s Assam in-charge Bhanwar Jitendra Singh later announced that the resignation had been withdrawn after dialogue.“I thank Bhupen Borah for taking back his resignation. Senior Congress leader Bhupen Borah is an important member of the Congress family. He had sent his resignation to our party’s national president,” Singh said.“Sometimes differences of opinion arise, but these have been resolved through discussions,” he added, reaffirming Borah’s importance to the organisation.Sarma had earlier invited Borah to join the BJP shortly after the latter submitted his resignation from the Congress, triggering political upheaval in the poll-bound state. He had said the BJP’s doors were open and even promised to help Borah secure a “safe seat” if he decided to switch sides.Drawing parallels with his own political journey, Sarma had said Borah’s resignation reflected deeper issues within the Congress. “His resignation carries the symbolic message that in the Congress, no one from a normal family can prosper. Congress does not give recognition to people from ordinary families, but I hail from an ordinary middle-class family and the BJP has made me a chief minister. We stay opposite to the politics of blue blood,” he said.The episode comes at a crucial time, with elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly expected in March–April. The ruling BJP currently holds 64 seats, while its allies Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) together add to its strength. The Congress has 26 MLAs in the House and is preparing to contest the polls in alliance with other opposition parties.
